Esther 9
Complete Jewish Bible
9 The time approached for the king’s order and decree to be carried out, the day when the enemies of the Jews hoped to overpower them. But, as it turned out, the opposite took place — the Jews overpowered those who hated them. Thus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, 2 the Jews assembled in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Achashverosh to attack anyone who tried to do them harm; and no one was able to withstand them; because all the peoples were afraid of them. 3 All the officials of the provinces, the army commanders, the governors and those occupied with the king’s affairs helped the Jews; because they were afraid of Mordekhai. 4 For Mordekhai had become a powerful person in the king’s palace, and his fame had spread through all the provinces; Mordekhai continued to grow increasingly powerful.
5 The Jews put all their enemies to the sword; there was great slaughter and destruction, as they did whatever they wanted to those who hated them; 6 in Shushan the capital, the Jews slaughtered 500 men. 7-10 They put to death the ten sons of Haman the son of Hamdata, the enemy of the Jews — Parshandata, Dalfon, Aspata, Porata, Adalya, Aridata, Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizata. But they did not touch the spoil.
11 The same day, after the king had been told the number of those killed in Shushan the capital, 12 he said to Ester the queen, “If the Jews have slaughtered 500 men in Shushan the capital and the ten sons of Haman, what have they done in the rest of the royal provinces! Now, whatever your request, you will be granted it; whatever more you want, it will be done.” 13 Ester replied, “If it pleases the king, let the Jews in Shushan act again tomorrow in accordance with today’s decree; also have Haman’s ten sons hanged on the gallows.” 14 The king ordered these things done — a decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. 15 So the Jews in Shushan assembled also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed 300 men in Shushan, but they did not touch the spoil.
16 The other Jews, those in the royal provinces, had assembled, defended their lives and won rest from their enemies, killing 75,000 of those who hated them, but without touching the spoil, 17 on the thirteenth day of the month Adar. So on the fourteenth day of Adar they rested and made it a holiday for celebrating and rejoicing. 18 However, the Jews of Shushan assembled on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days of Adar, so it was on the fifteenth that they rested and made it a holiday for celebrating and rejoicing. 19 This is why the Jews of the villages, those who live in unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month of Adar a day for celebrating and rejoicing, a holiday and a time for sending each other portions [of food].
20 Mordekhai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Achashverosh, both near and far, 21 instructing them to observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and the fifteenth day, every year, 22 [to commemorate] the days on which the Jews obtained rest from their enemies and the month which for them was turned from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; they were to make them days of celebrating and rejoicing, sending portions [of food] to each other and giving gifts to the poor.
23 So the Jews took it upon themselves to continue what they had already begun to do, and as Mordekhai had written to them; 24 because Haman the son of Hamdata the Agagi, the enemy of the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had thrown pur (that is, “cast lots”) to crush and destroy them; 25 but when Ester came before the king, he ordered by letters that [Haman’s] wicked scheme, which he had plotted against the Jews, should recoil on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 This is why these days have been called Purim, after the word pur. Thus, because of everything written in this letter, and what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had come upon them, 27 the Jews resolved and took upon themselves, their descendants and all who might join them that without fail they would observe these two days in accordance with what was written in [this letter] and at the appointed time, every year; 28 and that these days would be remembered and observed throughout every generation, every family, every province and every city; and that these days of Purim would never cease among the Jews or their memory be lost by their descendants.
29 Then Ester the queen, the daughter of Avichayil, and Mordekhai the Jew, gave full written authority to confirm a second letter about Purim. 30 He sent copies of it to all the Jews, to the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Achashverosh, ensuring their peace and security 31 and requiring the observance of these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordekhai the Jew and Ester the queen had enjoined them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants concerning the matters of fasting and lamenting. 32 At Ester’s order these matters of Purim were confirmed and put in writing in the book.
Esther 9
The Message
9 1-4 On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s order came into effect. This was the very day that the enemies of the Jews had planned to overpower them, but the tables were now turned: the Jews overpowered those who hated them! The Jews had gathered in the cities throughout King Xerxes’ provinces to lay hands on those who were seeking their ruin. Not one man was able to stand up against them—fear made cowards of them all. What’s more, all the government officials, satraps, governors—everyone who worked for the king—actually helped the Jews because of Mordecai; they were afraid of him. Mordecai by now was a power in the palace. As Mordecai became more and more powerful, his reputation had grown in all the provinces.
5-9 So the Jews finished off all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering them right and left, and did as they pleased to those who hated them. In the palace complex of Susa the Jews massacred five hundred men. They also killed the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the archenemy of the Jews:
| Parshandatha | Dalphon |
| Aspatha | Poratha |
| Adalia | Aridatha |
| Parmashta | Arisai |
| Aridai | Vaizatha |
10-12 But they took no plunder. That day, when it was all over, the number of those killed in the palace complex was given to the king. The king told Queen Esther, “In the palace complex alone here in Susa the Jews have killed five hundred men, plus Haman’s ten sons. Think of the killing that must have been done in the rest of the provinces! What else do you want? Name it and it’s yours. Your wish is my command.”
13 “If it please the king,” Queen Esther responded, “give the Jews of Susa permission to extend the terms of the order another day. And have the bodies of Haman’s ten sons hanged in public display on the gallows.”
14 The king commanded it: The order was extended; the bodies of Haman’s ten sons were publicly hanged.
15 The Jews in Susa went at it again. On the fourteenth day of Adar they killed another three hundred men in Susa. But again they took no plunder.
16-19 Meanwhile in the rest of the king’s provinces, the Jews had organized and defended themselves, freeing themselves from oppression. On the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, they killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them but did not take any plunder. The next day, the fourteenth, they took it easy and celebrated with much food and laughter. But in Susa, since the Jews had banded together on both the thirteenth and fourteenth days, they made the fifteenth their holiday for laughing and feasting. (This accounts for why Jews living out in the country in the rural villages remember the fourteenth day of Adar for celebration, their day for parties and the exchange of gifts.)
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20-22 Mordecai wrote all this down and sent copies to all the Jews in all King Xerxes’ provinces, regardless of distance, calling for an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar as the occasion when Jews got relief from their enemies, the month in which their sorrow turned to joy, mourning somersaulted into a holiday for parties and fun and laughter, the sending and receiving of presents and of giving gifts to the poor.
23 And they did it. What started then became a tradition, continuing the practice of what Mordecai had written to them.
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24-26 Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the archenemy of all Jews, had schemed to destroy all Jews. He had cast the pur (the lot) to throw them into a panic and destroy them. But when Queen Esther intervened with the king, he gave written orders that the evil scheme that Haman had worked out should boomerang back on his own head. He and his sons were hanged on the gallows. That’s why these days are called “Purim,” from the word pur or “lot.”
26-28 Therefore, because of everything written in this letter and because of all that they had been through, the Jews agreed to continue. It became a tradition for them, their children, and all future converts to remember these two days every year on the specified dates set down in the letter. These days are to be remembered and kept by every single generation, every last family, every province and city. These days of Purim must never be neglected among the Jews; the memory of them must never die out among their descendants.
29-32 Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, backed Mordecai the Jew, using her full queenly authority in this second Purim letter to endorse and ratify what he wrote. Calming and reassuring letters went out to all the Jews throughout the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom to fix these days of Purim their assigned place on the calendar, dates set by Mordecai the Jew—what they had agreed to for themselves and their descendants regarding their fasting and mourning. Esther’s word confirmed the tradition of Purim and was written in the book.
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Ester 9
Nueva Versión Internacional (Castilian)
Triunfo de los judíos
9 El edicto y la orden del rey debían ejecutarse el día trece del mes doce, que es el mes de adar. Los enemigos de los judíos esperaban dominarlos ese día; pero ahora se habían invertido los papeles, y los judíos dominaban a quienes los odiaban. 2 En todas las provincias del rey Asuero, los judíos se reunieron en sus respectivas ciudades para atacar a los que procuraban su ruina. Nadie podía combatirlos, porque el miedo a ellos se había apoderado de todos. 3 Los funcionarios de las provincias, los sátrapas, los intendentes y los administradores del rey apoyaban a los judíos, porque el miedo a Mardoqueo se había apoderado de todos ellos. 4 Mardoqueo se había convertido en un personaje distinguido dentro del palacio real. Su fama se extendía por todas las provincias, y cada vez se hacía más poderoso.
5 Los judíos mataron a filo de espada a todos sus enemigos. Los mataron y los aniquilaron, e hicieron lo que quisieron con quienes los odiaban. 6 En la ciudadela de Susa mataron y aniquilaron a quinientos hombres. 7 También mataron a Parsandata, Dalfón, Aspata, 8 Porata, Adalías, Aridata, 9 Parmasta, Arisay, Ariday y Vaizata, 10 que eran los diez hijos de Amán hijo de Hamedata, el enemigo de los judíos. Pero no se apoderaron de sus bienes.
11 Ese mismo día, al enterarse el rey del número de muertos en la ciudadela de Susa, 12 le dijo a la reina Ester:
―Si los judíos han matado y aniquilado a quinientos hombres y a los diez hijos de Amán en la ciudadela de Susa, ¡qué no habrán hecho en el resto de las provincias del reino! Dime cuál es tu deseo, y se te concederá. ¿Qué otra petición tienes? ¡Se cumplirá tu deseo!
13 ―Si al rey le parece bien —respondió Ester—, concédales permiso a los judíos de Susa para prorrogar hasta mañana el edicto de este día, y permita que sean colgados en la estaca los diez hijos de Amán.
14 El rey ordenó que se hiciera así. Se emitió un edicto en Susa, y los diez hijos de Amán fueron colgados. 15 Los judíos de Susa se reunieron también el día catorce del mes de adar, y mataron allí a trescientos hombres, pero no se apoderaron de sus bienes.
16 Mientras tanto, los judíos restantes que estaban en las provincias del rey también se reunieron para defenderse y librarse de sus enemigos. Mataron a setenta y cinco mil de quienes los odiaban, pero tampoco se apoderaron de sus bienes. 17 Esto sucedió el día trece del mes de adar. El día catorce descansaron, y lo celebraron con un alegre banquete.
Celebración del Purim
18 En cambio, los judíos de Susa que se habían reunido el trece y el catorce descansaron el día quince, y lo celebraron con un alegre banquete.
19 Por eso los judíos de las zonas rurales —los que viven en las aldeas— celebran el catorce del mes de adar como día de alegría y de banquete, y se hacen regalos unos a otros.
20 Mardoqueo registró estos acontecimientos y envió cartas a todos los judíos de todas las provincias lejanas y cercanas del rey Asuero, 21 exigiéndoles que celebraran cada año los días catorce y quince del mes de adar 22 como el tiempo en que los judíos se libraron de sus enemigos, y como el mes en que su aflicción se convirtió en alegría, y su dolor en día de fiesta. Por eso debían celebrarlos como días de banquete y de alegría, compartiendo los alimentos los unos con los otros y dándoles regalos a los pobres.
23 Así los judíos acordaron convertir en costumbre lo que habían comenzado a festejar, cumpliendo lo que Mardoqueo les había ordenado por escrito. 24 Porque Amán hijo de Hamedata, el agagueo, el enemigo de todos los judíos, había maquinado aniquilar a los judíos y había echado el pur —es decir, la suerte— para confundirlos y aniquilarlos. 25 Pero, cuando Ester se presentó ante el rey, este ordenó por escrito que el malvado plan que Amán había maquinado contra los judíos debía recaer sobre su propia cabeza, y que él y sus hijos fueran colgados en la estaca. 26 Por tal razón, a estos días se los llamó Purim, de la palabra pur. Conforme a todo lo escrito en esta carta, y debido a lo que habían visto y a lo que les había sucedido, 27 los judíos establecieron para ellos y sus descendientes, y para todos los que se les unieran, la costumbre de celebrar sin falta estos dos días cada año, según la manera prescrita y en la fecha fijada. 28 Toda familia, y cada provincia y ciudad, debía recordar y celebrar estos días en cada generación. Y estos días de Purim no debían dejar de festejarse entre los judíos, ni debía morir su recuerdo entre sus descendientes.
29 La reina Ester, hija de Abijaíl, junto con Mardoqueo el judío, escribieron con plena autoridad para confirmar esta segunda carta con respecto a los días de Purim. 30 Él envió decretos a todos los judíos de las ciento veintisiete provincias del reino de Asuero —con palabras de buena voluntad y seguridad— 31 para establecer los días de Purim en las fechas fijadas, como lo habían decretado para ellos Mardoqueo el judío y la reina Ester, y como lo habían establecido para sí mismos y para sus descendientes, con algunas cláusulas sobre ayunos y lamentos. 32 El decreto de Ester confirmó estas normas con respecto a Purim y quedó registrado por escrito.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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